رمين القلوب بأشواقها — Alarjani

رَميْنَ القلوبَ بأشواقِها

ظِباءٌ تَصيدُ بأَحداقِها

They struck hearts with their longings—

gazelles that hunt with their eyes.

تَحيَّر من حُسْنِها الطَّرْفُ بَيْنَ

حَبيسِ الدُّموعِ ومُهْراقها

Their beauty bewildered the gaze, caught between

tears held back and tears poured forth.

رمَتْ بالهوى قلبَ كُلِّ امْرئٍ

عليلِ الجوانحِ خَفّاقها

They struck with love the heart of every man

ailing in his breast, his ribs aflutter.

فلِمْ لا تَرِقُّ لأشباهها

عيونٌ مِراضٌ كعُشَاقها

Then why show no tenderness to their like,

these eyes, ailing as their lovers are?

وما زال من شِيَمِ الغانيات

مَع الإلْفِ قِلَّةُ مِيثاقها

It has ever been among beautiful women's traits

to keep little faith with a beloved.

شِعارُ الضَّنى جِسْمُ مُرْتادِها

ونَهْبُ الجَوى قَلْبُ مُشتاقها

Their seeker's body is wasting's inner garment,

and their longing lover's heart the prey of anguish.

فللّهِ لو سَلِمَتْ أَنفُسٌ

قَضاها الهوَى غيرَ أَرماقها

By God, if only souls had been spared

that love destroyed, save for their last breaths!

وممَّا شَجاني وقد وَدَّعوا

بُكاءُ الحمامِ على ساقها

Among the things that grieved me, as they bade farewell,

was the doves' weeping upon their bough.

تَنوحُ على بُعْدِ أُلاّفها

وتُظْهِرُ مَكْتومَ أَشْواقها

They lament the distance of their companions

and reveal their hidden longings.

وضاقَتْ صُدوراً بأنفاسِها

فَفرَّجْنَ حَلْقةَ أَطْواقها

Their breasts grew tight with their breaths,

so they loosened the circles of their collars.

لَبِسْنَ حِداداً ومَزَّقْنَه

فلم يَمتسِكْ غيرُ أَزْياقها

They donned mourning garb and tore it,

and nothing held together but their neckbands.

وقد نزفَتْ في الهَوى دَمعَها

فلم يَبْقَ ماٌ لآماقها

They had drained their tears in love,

so no moisture remained in their eye-corners.

أَتَتْ غُدوةَ البَيْنِ حتّى روَتْ

من الشّجْوِ أَشعارَ نُعّاقها

They came on the morning of parting and went on to recite,

out of grief, the verses of their cawing birds.

وقد لَحّنتْ كُلَّ أَبياتِها

كفِعْلِ الفُحولِ وحُذّاقها

They set all their verses to melody,

as master poets and their adepts do.

قوافٍ على القافِ مَبنيّةٌ

لِوَصْفِ الفراقِ بمُنْساقها

Rhymes built upon the letter qaf,

describing separation through their flowing sequence.

تَلقَّتْ على عَجَلٍ حِفْظَها

لتَجْويدِها ولإفْلاقها

They quickly learned them by heart

to perfect them and make them marvelous.

وقد خَطّأَتْ فَتْحَ حَرْفِ الرَّويِّ

فَضَمّتْ أَواخِرَ إطلاقها

They judged an a-vowel on the rhyme-letter faulty,

so they gave their utterance's endings a u-vowel.

فَقُدَّتْ لها من رداء الغُرابِ

تَمائمُ تُلْوَى بأعناقها

From the raven's cloak there were cut for them

amulets wound about their necks.

فيالَكِ مُشتاقةً ما تَزا

لُ تُعدي الرّجالَ بتَشْواقها

Ah, what a yearning creature, never

ceasing to infect men with her longing!

وخُطْباً علَتْ فوقَ أَعوادِها

وقد خَطَبتْ مِلْءَ أشْداقها

And to preach, she rose above her wooden perches,

and preached with her cheeks filled.

أَطالَتْ من الوجْدِ تَشْبيهَها

بإطْنابِها وبإغْراقها

From yearning she prolonged her similes

with her elaboration and her hyperbole.

وكان التّخلُّصُ في إثْرِها

ثَناءً على آلِ إسْحاقها

And the transition that followed them

was praise for the family of her Ishaq:

كرامِ الخلائقِ مُذْ لم تَزَلْ

كذاك جَرى حُكْمُ خَلاّقها

noble in character, as they have always been;

so ran the decree of their Creator.

وفي كلِّ أيّامِ عَصْرٍ هُمُ

إلى المجدِ أَوّلُ سُبّاقها

In every day of every age, they are

the first to race toward glory.

فضَضْنا ختامَ لآلي الزّمانِ

فكانوا نَفائسَ أَعْلاقها

We broke the seal on the pearls of Time,

and they proved the choicest of those treasures.

فإن طابَ منها ثِمارُ الفُروعِ

فمِن مُقتضَى طِيبِ أَعراقها

If the fruits of their branches are sweet,

it follows from the sweetness of their roots.

هُمْ أَنجُمٌ لسماء العُلا

وعُثْمانُ شَمْسٌ لآفاقها

They are stars in the sky of eminence,

and Uthman is the sun of its horizons.

إذا ما تَجلّتْ جلَتْ بالضِياءِ

من الأرضِ قاتمَ أَعماقها

When it appears, its light dispels

the gloom in the earth's depths.

وإن أَشرقَتْ شَرِقَتْ عُصبَةٌ

من الحاسدِينَ بإشْراقها

And when it shines, choked is a band

of envious men by its radiance.

ردَدْنا أَحاديثَ أَهلِ النّدى

فجاءتْ يَداهُ بمِصْداقها

We recounted tales of men of bounty,

and his two hands supplied their proof.

ومَلَّ الطُّلَى هامَ أَعدائه

فطارَ الحديدُ بأفلاقها

The necks grew weary of his enemies' heads,

so the steel sent their fragments flying.

وضَجّ العُناةُ إلى كَفِّه

فمَنّتْ عليهمْ بإعْتاقها

The captives cried out to his palm,

and it bestowed freedom on them.

يَكادُ إذا مَسَّ أَقلامَه

تَعودُ إلى خُضْرِ أَوراقها

When he touches his pens, they almost

return to their green leaves.

فليت ليالٍ صَحِبْنَ الكرامَ

تَعلّمْنَ من حُسْنِ أَخلاقها

Would that nights which kept noble men company

had learned from the beauty of their character!

ألا أَيُّها المَلِك المُرتَجى

لفَتْحِ ثُغورٍ وإغْلاقها

O king, in whom hope is placed

for opening frontier strongholds and closing them,

مضَتْ بالعزائمِ منكَ الظُّبَى

مَضاءَ السِّهامِ بأفواقها

the sword-edges sped forward with resolve from you,

as arrows fly, propelled at their nocks.

وأَزرَتْ يَمِيناكَ يومَ النّدى

بهطّالِ مُزْنٍ ودَفّاقها

On the day of bounty, your two right hands outdid

the heavy-raining clouds and their torrents.

ومَدّتْ إلى بابِك الرّاغبو

نَ أعناقَ عِيسٍ بإعناقها

The seekers stretched toward your gate

the necks of pale camels in their swift stride.

ولمّا رأيتَ كَسادَ العلومِ

عُنيتَ بتَنْفيقٍ أسواقها

When you saw learning fallen into stagnation,

you took care to revive its markets.

تَدارَكْتَ آخِرَ حَوْبائها

وأَبْدَيْتَ جِدّةَ أخْلاقها

You rescued its last breath of life

and revealed freshness in its worn-out robes.

وَوكَّلْتَ كفّاً بها سَمْحةً

بأذْهابها وبأوراقها

And you charged a generous hand with tending it,

with its gold and its silver,

كما يَعْتلي عارِضٌ مُطبِقٌ

بإمطارِها وبإبراقها

as a cloud rises, covering all,

with its rain and its lightning.

فألّفتَ شاردَ أبنائها

وشَرّدتَ آلِفَ مُرّاقها

So you gathered its scattered sons

and scattered its settled renegades.

وَوُرِّثتَها سُنّةً عن أبيكَ

فما طِبْتَ نفْساً بإخْلاقها

You were bequeathed it as a tradition by your father,

so you could not bear to let it grow threadbare.

جمَعْتَ الأئمةَ مثْلَ النُّجو

مِ تَهْدي السّبيلَ لِطُرّاقها

You gathered the imams, like stars

guiding the path for its travelers.

وأصبحتَ يا شمسُ ما بَيْنَها

طَلوعاً تُنيرُ بإطْباقها

And you, O sun, stood among them,

rising, shedding light amid their gathered ranks.

ومن عجَبٍ أنْ تُضيءَ النُّجومُ

إذا الشّمسُ ألقَتْ بأَرْواقها

A marvel it is that stars should shine

when the sun has spread its canopies.

بَقِيتَ ظَهيراً لدينِ الهُدَى

تَذودُ العِدا دونَ إرهاقها

May you remain a champion of the religion of guidance,

warding off foes before they can assail it.

ودُمْتَ جَمالاً على دَولةٍ

تُدِلُّ عليكَ بإشْفاقها

May you remain an adornment to a realm

that treats you with the fond confidence of its affection.

وكنتَ من النّصرِ في مَعْقِلٍ

متى كشَفَ الحَرْبُ عن ساقها

May you abide in victory's stronghold

whenever war bares its shank.

إذا خفَقتْ رايةٌ أيقنَتْ

نُفوسُ عِداكَ بإخْفاقها

When a banner flutters, certain are

your enemies' souls of their own failure.

كفيلٌ يداكَ لكلِّ الورَى

بآجالِها وبأرزاقها

Your two hands stand surety for all mankind,

for their appointed deaths and their sustenance.

بيُمناك تُغْلَقُ أعناقُها

ويُسراكَ مِفْتاحُ أَغلاقها

By your right hand their necks are locked,

and your left is the key to their locks.